Kirkland & Ellis was the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in the North American region during the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2023 by deal value as well as volume, according to the latest legal advisers league table by GlobalData, which ranks legal advisers by the value and volume of M&A deals on which they advised.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Kirkland & Ellis achieved the leading position by advising on 301 deals worth $218.9 billion during Q1-Q3 2023.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the clear winner both in terms of deal volume and value, outpacing its peers by a significant margin. It was the only adviser to have advised on more than 300 deals during Q1-Q3 2023.

“Moreover, Kirkland & Ellis was also the only firm to surpass $200 billion in total deal value as it was involved in several high-value transactions. It advised on 48 billion-dollar deals* during Q1-Q3 2023, which also included five mega deals valued more than $10 billion.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 111 deals, followed by Jones Day with 93 deals, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett with 89 and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with 89 deals.

Meanwhile, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $190 billion worth of deals, followed by Latham & Watkins with $160.6 billion, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with $155.4 billion, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz with $ 151.4 billion.

*Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion